Patriots mailbag: How to handle Rhamondre Stevenson, DeMario Douglas

There s no mystery why the Patriots lost Week to the Steelers Had the Patriots not lost five turnovers on Sunday they easily would have beat the Steelers to start the season - Now a few Patriots fans are looking for consequences after running back Rhamondre Stevenson lost two fumbles and wide receiver DeMario Douglas ran backwards on a vital fourth-and- reception late in the fourth quarter We ll discuss how the Patriots should handle Stevenson and Douglas and answer other questions in this week s mailbag Related Articles Patriots-Steelers film review The silver linings for Drake Maye Mike Vrabel in another loss Mike Vrabel provides update on Patriots defensive play-calling plan How Patriots plan to address ball defense issues after Week accident How Mike Vrabel evaluated Drake Maye s interception in loss to Steelers Callahan Patriots are getting in their own way under Mike Vrabel patsguydude I think cutting Rhamondre would be an absolutely insane move right now benching him im fine with demoting him I think is totally necessary and no matter what they need to make sure he changes the way he runs if he doesn t want to get cut I m on board with not cutting Stevenson Also if the Patriots were going to release him they would have done it by now I understand where the vitriol is coming from Patriots fans don t want to see one member continue to turn the ball over in key moments But he s also the Patriots preponderance dependable pass-blocking running back and he was instrumental in helping the association get its only achievement this season in Week And the Patriots don t have enough offensive firepower to willingly part with a legitimate NFL starter taking fumbles out of the equation I do believe the Patriots should reduce Stevenson s workload and give more snaps and touches to rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson and veteran Antonio Gibson Henderson does still have issues in pass protection however and Gibson also fumbled on Sunday So making Stevenson inactive would be somewhat of a rash move since he can still help you in the passing championship If Stevenson continues to fumble then the Patriots might have no choice but to release him I personally would look to potentially add a running back from another crew s practice squad to add more depth and experience to the group If the Patriots don t do that then Terrell Jennings would be the next option off of their own practice squad There are chosen experienced running backs on practice squads like D Ernest Johnson Cam Akers Jeff Wilson and Clyde Edwards-Helaire ClosewithChapa Why are we so invested in Pop we need to incorporate Chism and Williams more I like Boutte and Diggs but Pop is not the guy people perpetually rave about The Patriots have to consider reducing wide receiver DeMario Pop Douglas workload further after Sunday s loss as well Douglas seems to struggle getting on the same page as quarterback Drake Maye he didn t run his highway at proper depth on the Patriots final play and he made the mistake of running backwards rather than knifing through defenders when he did catch the fourth-and- pass The Patriots do have enough wide receiver depth to bench Douglas They already dress Kayshon Boutte Mack Hollins Stefon Diggs and Kyle Williams and Efton Chism has been a healthy scratch for the first three games of the season If Douglas is benched then the Patriots have a inadequate different options to take over his snaps They could entirely move Diggs to the slot and then give someone like Williams more outside snaps Or they could make Chism ongoing and give him Douglas slot snaps I think it s worth seeing what Chism can do in the offense He was a playmaker in training camp and the preseason doing enough to earn a role on the -man roster Based on everything coaches have explained he s picked up the mental aspect of the tournament There s only one way to find out if he can compete against NFL starting defenders Benching Douglas wouldn t end his Patriots career by any means I just think it could be beneficial to let him sit for a couple of weeks to master the mental aspect of McDaniels system Ollie Looking at the next games and the results from this week should we be expecting to win of those games Should we expect them to win five games No The Patriots have proven over the first three weeks of the season that they can find solutions to lose any games Are five wins feasible Sure They re favored by points over the Panthers which seems high but it s the way Vegas oddsmakers view the matchup Then they play the Bills which will likely be a loss But then they have a seemingly easy four-game stretch against the Saints Titans Browns and Falcons If the Patriots can beat the Panthers then it s easy to feel a lot better about them beating the Saints Titans Browns and Falcons If they lose to the Panthers then anything is on the table It genuinely feels like the Patriots could be - or - after Week BabyMonsterfave Can we start blaming Drake Maye for costing us the games now Obviously fans can do whatever they want but I don t think that s entirely fair It feels like Maye has to elevate his offense On other teams young quarterbacks are elevated by the players around him I believe Maye has to fix his issues with turnovers He s averaging turnovers per contest which is too plenty of and puts him in a few pretty poor company among working players Only JJ McCarthy Jameis Winston Will Levis Bailey Zappe and Sam Howell average more ashley Hi Doug I thought the O-line the last day was shaky at best what has your thoughts been of this unit so far this year Shaky is a good adjective to use but they ve still been better than I expected heading into the season Per PFF center Garrett Bradbury has yet to give up a pressure this season And pass protection was his biggest knock on the open sphere Jared Wilson and Will Campbell have been riding the rookie rollercoaster allowing nine pressures and eight pressures respectively Morgan Moses has apparently been a little bit worse than expected but he has been dealing with an injury and Mike Onwenu has been steady Wilson has yet to let up a sack this season per PFF and Campbell has allowed one sack Considering the pass rushers the Patriots have faced through the first three weeks that s definitely not awful Maye was sacked five times in Week but it also felt like he had enough time to operate in the pocket The O-line struggled in Week but played well in Week